Critical thinking and education is linked to loss of faith

[The Learner]

I think that the relationship between critical thinking and faith is a complex and multifaceted issue. On one hand, critical thinking can help individuals question and challenge their beliefs, which can lead to a deeper and more authentic understanding of their faith.

However, I can also see how an overemphasis on critical thinking and rationality can sometimes lead to a loss of faith. In today's society, there is often a tendency to prioritize scientific and empirical evidence over religious or spiritual beliefs, which can create a perceived conflict between faith and reason.

I believe that it's important to strike a balance between critical thinking and faith, and to recognize that both have a place in our lives. Rather than viewing critical thinking as a threat to faith, we can see it as a valuable tool for exploring and deepening our beliefs.

At the same time, we should also acknowledge the limitations of rationality and recognize that faith involves more than just intellectual understanding. Ultimately, I think that finding a healthy and balanced relationship between critical thinking and faith requires openness, humility, and a willingness to engage in thoughtful and respectful dialogue with others.

Sister, Friend critical thinking has always increase my faith.

 

[FlySwatter]

Sister, Friend critical thinking has always increase my faith.

How does your critical thinking assess the jealous, wrathful, murderous nature of god as depicted in the OT compared to the message of the NT and the fact that "Go does not change" according to the Bible?

 

[Ronald David Bruno]

Generally, the more religious one is, the less educated they are

Religion is man's way of reaching God. Christianity is God's way of reaching man.
Education is important as long as you use the knowledge for something constructive, your job, the betterment of mankind, etc.
These days knowledge has increased beyond the capabilities of the common man to apply it. It is like pouring a gallon of water into a cup and not knowing when to stop. We need to find a purpose for it.
Man seeks God because he wants purpose in life. He asks the important questions: Why am I here?. Where did I come from? Where am I going? Is there a God and if so, Who is He, what is His plan for mankind and what does He expect from me?
The man who doesn't seek God doesn't really ever find meaning and purpose in life. He just fills his cup with knowledge, money, sex, plessures, whatever he is drawn to. But there is this void in him ( a vacuum) that never gets satisfied. He tries to fill it with knowledge and still remains unhappy. Pursuit of money has the same effect.
Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines. He exhausted all there was to learn and experience in every area of life. His cup was overflowing in every way possible beyond what any man could experience. He was the richest man ever. What was his conclusion? "Life without God is vanity of vanities and chasing after the wind."
We learn wisdom from him, from Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. We learn to seek what is important and what has purpose. Stephen Hawking had much knowledge, but he died a fool. He who says there is no God is a fool.
Christian educate ourselves in love. We are drawn to it's source, to God who is LOVE. We are drawn to the fruit of the Spirit of God: love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

So what wind and vanity are you drawn to and chasing after?

 

[Romanov2488]

Religion is man's way of reaching God. Christianity is God's way of reaching man.
Education is important as long as you use the knowledge for something constructive, your job, the betterment of mankind, etc.
These days knowledge has increased beyond the capabilities of the common man to apply it. It is like pouring a gallon of water into a cup and not knowing when to stop. We need to find a purpose for it.
Man seeks God because he wants purpose in life. He asks the important questions: Why am I here?. Where did I come from? Where am I going? Is there a God and if so, Who is He, what is His plan for mankind and what does He expect from me?
The man who doesn't seek God doesn't really ever find meaning and purpose in life. He just fills his cup with knowledge, money, sex, plessures, whatever he is drawn to. But there is this void in him ( a vacuum) that never gets satisfied. He tries to fill it with knowledge and still remains unhappy. Pursuit of money has the same effect.
Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines. He exhausted all there was to learn and experience in every area of life. His cup was overflowing in every way possible beyond what any man could experience. He was the richest man ever. What was his conclusion? "Life without God is vanity of vanities and chasing after the wind."
We learn wisdom from him, from Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. We learn to seek what is important and what has purpose. Stephen Hawking had much knowledge, but he died a fool. He who says there is no God is a fool.
Christian educate ourselves in love. We are drawn to it's source, to God who is LOVE. We are drawn to the fruit of the Spirit of God: love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

So what wind and vanity are you drawn to and chasing after?

“The man who doesn't seek God doesn't really ever find meaning and purpose in life.” False. Do you lack meaning in life without Santa Claus? Some of the most secular countries such as Denmark, have some of the highest rates of happiness. As an atheist, I find plenty of meaning to life. You may not be able to find meaning without your god, but there’s those of us who find plenty of it without god whatsoever. Many children before they are indoctrinated find lots of meaning to life. Just look at their sense of wonder and excitement.

 

[Ronald David Bruno]

“The man who doesn't seek God doesn't really ever find meaning and purpose in life.” False. Some of the most secular countries such as Denmark, have some of the highest rates of happiness. As an atheist, I find plenty of meaning to life. You may not be able to find meaning without your god, but there’s those of us who find plenty of it without god whatsoever. Many children before they are indoctrinated find lots of meaning to life. Just look at their sense of wonder and excitement.

Children do see life in a wonderful unindoctrinated and innocent way. We all experience joys in life that mean something. The journey through life is exciting with or without God. The meaning and purpose I was referring to was not about the temporal journey as much as our value at death. We go through all these motions, trials, tribulations, ups and downs, gain all this knowledge and wisdom to just come to the end of ourselves? This idea that you die and it's over and you don't exist, sort of devalues anything you've accomplished in life, relationships you cherished, wisdom you gained to just lose it all. That is the purpose and meaning I'm talking about. If life is all there is then by all means, eat, drink and be merry, enjoy the fruit of your labor. But towards the end of life, one gets sad, afraid to die, to end it all and at that time whatever you did in life, doesn't seem much important anymore. It will all be over soon, lost. And towards the end, life gets tougher as we age. Our body begins to fail, we get sicker, weak, suffer pain, disabilities as we move closer to death. Just before the atheist goes, ask him what was it all for, what did it mean and what was the purpose of his whole life? He might say to pass it on to the next generation and that is a honorable unselfish response. But what's in it for him? We ask this question throughout our lives - don't we? It's not really selfish to love yourself and be concerned about your own welfare and existence. We are to love others AS we love ourselves, so it is fair to ask, What's my gain in all of this? His answer is zero. Death has this sting to it.
It is a zero sum game that benefits those who believe in Christ and those who do not, lose. Those who believe are given eternal life which brings with it meaning and purpose to the whole journey, no loss, no ending to the story. Death has no sting for us. We approach it differently. We look forward to it without fear. It is a wonderful mindset to live with; having this faith, hope and a loving God who guides you through this life and brings you into the next.
My Mom just died a few years ago. I didn't grieve much, because I know I'll see her in a few years.
Death comes unannounced sometimes.
I'll share something Stephen Hawking never figured out. Life is about reconciling to God through Christ at some point along the way. If you don't, it really doesn't matter what you did.

 

[The Learner]

How does your critical thinking assess the jealous, wrathful, murderous nature of god as depicted in the OT compared to the message of the NT and the fact that "Go does not change" according to the Bible?

That relates to God protecting his people. He is Holy, gives guidelines, commands and he holds us responsible for what we do. That same nature is displayed in the last book of the New Testament too. His wraph is in both testaments aka covenants.

 

[The Learner]

Religion is man's way of reaching God. Christianity is God's way of reaching man.
Education is important as long as you use the knowledge for something constructive, your job, the betterment of mankind, etc.
These days knowledge has increased beyond the capabilities of the common man to apply it. It is like pouring a gallon of water into a cup and not knowing when to stop. We need to find a purpose for it.
Man seeks God because he wants purpose in life. He asks the important questions: Why am I here?. Where did I come from? Where am I going? Is there a God and if so, Who is He, what is His plan for mankind and what does He expect from me?
The man who doesn't seek God doesn't really ever find meaning and purpose in life. He just fills his cup with knowledge, money, sex, plessures, whatever he is drawn to. But there is this void in him ( a vacuum) that never gets satisfied. He tries to fill it with knowledge and still remains unhappy. Pursuit of money has the same effect.
Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines. He exhausted all there was to learn and experience in every area of life. His cup was overflowing in every way possible beyond what any man could experience. He was the richest man ever. What was his conclusion? "Life without God is vanity of vanities and chasing after the wind."
We learn wisdom from him, from Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. We learn to seek what is important and what has purpose. Stephen Hawking had much knowledge, but he died a fool. He who says there is no God is a fool.
Christian educate ourselves in love. We are drawn to it's source, to God who is LOVE. We are drawn to the fruit of the Spirit of God: love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

So what wind and vanity are you drawn to and chasing after?

I grew up in a plural marriage setting as such, I do not think Solomon was wise to have that many women to deal with. Being the oldest, I kept a calendar of all our Mother's period, so to avoid them and send the younger kids to them. I literally grew up in a barn on the top floor and had many escape routes.

 

[Ronald David Bruno]

I grew up in a plural marriage setting as such, I do not think Solomon was wise to have that many women to deal with. Being the oldest, I kept a calendar of all our Mother's period, so to avoid them and send the younger kids to them. I literally grew up in a barn on the top floor and had many escape routes.

Are you a Mormon?

King Solomon didn't write those books before he had it all or in the middle of his journey, he wrote them at the end.
Wisdom is what he prayed for in order to govern his kingdom and God gave him that but it took a lifetime. Wisdom comes at the culmination of your knowledge and experiences.

 

[FlySwatter]

That relates to God protecting his people. He is Holy, gives guidelines, commands and he holds us responsible for what we do. That same nature is displayed in the last book of the New Testament too. His wraph is in both testaments aka covenants.

But surely ALL people are god's people for according to your doctrine he created them all. If your god is just interested in a handful of the billions that he created then surely the world is lost anyway?

If he's only interested in the few that jump when he says jump then equally the world is lost being held to ransom by an Authoritarian dictator. There can be no free will in such an oppressed world.

If god is happy and content wilfully murdering any and all humans he doesn't care for or who choose to be free then by his actions he sets the example and what follows is a morality that says it's ok to kill people you don't personally care about or who upset you. Is that really a worthy role model to follow?

The truth is the Bible message makes no sense at all and that can only be because it was a man-made cobbled together work that took numerous sources and deliberately edited them, took out bits that didn't support the dogma they wanted and so on. Or it could be simply that the Bible is not the truth at all.

 

[The Learner]

Are you a Mormon?

King Solomon didn't write those books before he had it all or in the middle of his journey, he wrote them at the end.
Wisdom is what he prayed for in order to govern his kingdom and God gave him that but it took a lifetime. Wisdom comes at the culmination of your knowledge and experiences.

My Father was a prophet of the sect called Sextons. When he was murdered then, I became the prophet, I had only one revelation, telling everyone not to marry their sisters, go out and have a normal life of one wife. The ladies loved this, some of the men hated me. I also, said this is the final revelation and their will not be any prophets after me. Then, I preached the true Gospel of Jesus (Eph 2:8-9). We disbanded the cult too. Many came to the real Jesus. One of my Mothers was Jewish as such I attended Temple School to become a Rabbi. I came to Jesus March 17, 1974, Dad was murdered July 17, 1993 at 72 years young. He was going for his 18th wife. The Sextons was a LDS sect branching out from Beaver Island Michigan, King Strang was the so-called prohpet there. The LDS sect prophets never had an revelation from G_d. We all simply made it up. Where is the spell check and grammar checker?

 

[The Learner]

But surely ALL people are god's people for according to your doctrine he created them all. If your god is just interested in a handful of the billions that he created then surely the world is lost anyway?

If he's only interested in the few that jump when he says jump then equally the world is lost being held to ransom by an Authoritarian dictator. There can be no free will in such an oppressed world.

If god is happy and content wilfully murdering any and all humans he doesn't care for or who choose to be free then by his actions he sets the example and what follows is a morality that says it's ok to kill people you don't personally care about or who upset you. Is that really a worthy role model to follow?

The truth is the Bible message makes no sense at all and that can only be because it was a man-made cobbled together work that took numerous sources and deliberately edited them, took out bits that didn't support the dogma they wanted and so on. Or it could be simply that the Bible is not the truth at all.

Please come to my house and kill those pesky flies.

 

[Romanov2488]

But surely ALL people are god's people for according to your doctrine he created them all. If your god is just interested in a handful of the billions that he created then surely the world is lost anyway?

If he's only interested in the few that jump when he says jump then equally the world is lost being held to ransom by an Authoritarian dictator. There can be no free will in such an oppressed world.

If god is happy and content wilfully murdering any and all humans he doesn't care for or who choose to be free then by his actions he sets the example and what follows is a morality that says it's ok to kill people you don't personally care about or who upset you. Is that really a worthy role model to follow?

The truth is the Bible message makes no sense at all and that can only be because it was a man-made cobbled together work that took numerous sources and deliberately edited them, took out bits that didn't support the dogma they wanted and so on. Or it could be simply that the Bible is not the truth at all.

A supreme being literally NEEDED man to communicate through. It was all inspired by God. Someone decided to stand up at a fire pit gathering and say, “Alright friends, a supreme being called God has spoken to me. I am your king now so you must give me all your riches and wives or else they will be thrown into volcanoes.”

 

[Titus]

More scientists believe in a supernatural power than not.
So this whole post is based on a false premise.

 

[Romanov2488]

More scientists believe in a supernatural power than not.
So this whole post is based on a false premise.

Yet a lot less scientists believe in God compared to the general public. Come on now.

Scientists and Belief

When President Barack Obama announced on July 8, 2009, that he would nominate renowned geneticist Francis Collins to be the new director of the National

www.pewresearch.org

 

[Titus]

View attachment 32340
Yet a lot less scientists believe in God compared to the general public. Come on now.

Scientists and Belief

When President Barack Obama announced on July 8, 2009, that he would nominate renowned geneticist Francis Collins to be the new director of the National

www.pewresearch.org

Thanks for proving me correct.
More educated scientists believe in a supernatural power than scientists who think there is nothing more than what is in front of them.

 

[Titus]

View attachment 32340
Yet a lot less scientists believe in God compared to the general public. Come on now.

Scientists and Belief

When President Barack Obama announced on July 8, 2009, that he would nominate renowned geneticist Francis Collins to be the new director of the National

www.pewresearch.org

btw, 33+18 = 51
51% scientists pro supernatural being
41% scientists against supernatural being

Conclusion: More educated scientists believe in something other than themselves over educated scientists who have "figured" out there is no God.
Thanks again friend.

 

[Romanov2488]

btw, 33+18 = 51
51% scientists pro supernatural being
41% scientists against supernatural being

Conclusion: More educated scientists believe in something other than themselves over educated scientists who have "figured" out there is no God.
Thanks again friend.

You’re lying. The source says nothing about scientists being educated. Also, you didn’t read this part: “More than 80 years later, Edward Larson, a historian of science then teaching at the University of Georgia, recreated Leuba’s survey, asking the same number of scientists the exact same questions. To the surprise of many, Larson’s 1996 poll came up with similar results, finding that 40% of scientists believed in a personal God, while 45% said they did not. Other surveys of scientists have yielded roughly similar results.”

You also deflected from where I mentioned that scientists in comparison to the general public, are less likely to believe in God.

 

[Titus]

The source says nothing about scientists being educated.

What? You don't think scientists are educated?
Thanks for calling me a liar, I was only referring to the graph you posted.
I did not read the link, so I was not aware of what was said.
That makes me ignorant of the link you posted not a liar.

You atheist's love to call believers liars.
If you had some credibility you would ask questions before you jump so happily to false conclusions.

I'll read the link.

 

[Titus]

finding that 40% of scientists believed in a personal God, while 45% said they did not. Other surveys of scientists

O, I see you are not being transparent with what was said.
It is 40% of scientists believe in a PERSONAL God
While 45% do not.
That is not taking into account the scientists who are deist.

 

[Titus]

You also deflected from where I mentioned that scientists in comparison to the general public, are less likely to believe in God.

Moot point.
You are making a false claim that if everyone was highly educated we would not believe in God.
Yet more scientists who are educated believe in a supernatural power than do not.

So you are basing your argument on a false premise